U.S. patent application number 11/825876 was filed with the patent office on 2008-06-26 for tire with composite ply structure and envelope turnup.
Invention is credited to Joseph Kevin Hubbell, Robert Allen Losey, Robert Anthony Neubauer, Keith Carl Trares.
Application Number | 20080149250 11/825876 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39167105 |
Filed Date | 2008-06-26 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080149250 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Trares; Keith Carl ; et
al. |
June 26, 2008 |
Tire with composite ply structure and envelope turnup
Abstract
A tire and method of building a tire is described wherein the
tire has a carcass having a pair of sidewall plies and a bridge
ply, each ply being reinforced with cords, the sidewall plies each
having a first end which is received between the bridge ply and a
belt reinforcing structure; wherein each sidewall ply extends
axially outward along the sidewall and extending radially inwardly
to the bead core and folded from a position axially outside the
bead core to a position axially inside and around the bead core to
an axially inner turnup end; said bridge ply having ends which
overlap with a respective inner turnup end of said sidewall
ply.
Inventors: |
Trares; Keith Carl; (Akron,
OH) ; Hubbell; Joseph Kevin; (Akron, OH) ;
Losey; Robert Allen; (Kent, OH) ; Neubauer; Robert
Anthony; (Medina, OH) |
Correspondence
Address: |
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company;Patent & Trademark Department - D/823
1144 East Market Street
Akron
OH
44316-0001
US
|
Family ID: |
39167105 |
Appl. No.: |
11/825876 |
Filed: |
July 10, 2007 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60876329 |
Dec 21, 2006 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
152/553 ;
156/135 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60C 9/04 20130101; B60C
9/09 20130101; B29D 2030/086 20130101; B29D 30/20 20130101; Y10T
152/10864 20150115; B29D 30/30 20130101; B60C 9/0207 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
152/553 ;
156/135 |
International
Class: |
B29D 30/08 20060101
B29D030/08; B60C 15/04 20060101 B60C015/04 |
Claims
1. The method of building a tire having a carcass assembly having a
pair of bead cores and a radial ply reinforcing structure; the
method comprises the steps of: applying an innerliner; applying a
bridge ply over said innerliner; cylindrically applying a pair of
radial cord reinforced sidewall plies, wherein the sidewall plies
are spaced apart in the crown area of the tire; wherein bridge ply
overlaps the ends of the sidewall plies; setting one bead core over
each sidewall ply and fixing the axial spacing between the bead
cores at a distance L; turning up each sidewall ply forming a
turned up end, wherein the turned up end of each sidewall ply
overlaps with the end of the bridge ply; moving the carcass
assembly axially inwardly while shaping the carcass assembly
toroidially to form ply turnups axially inwardly of the bead
cores.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprises the steps of: applying
a first belt reinforcing layer to the toroidially shaped carcass,
wherein the first belt reinforcing layer overlaps the radially
outer ends of the sidewall plies.
3. The method of claim 1, further includes the steps of: stitching
the overlap of the sidewall plies to the bridge ply.
4. The method of claim 2, further comprises the steps of: applying
one or more additional belt reinforcing layers to the carcass and
first reinforcing layer; applying a tread.
5. A pneumatic radial ply tread tire comprising: a pair of
axially-spaced bead cores; a carcass having a pair of sidewall
plies and a bridge ply, each ply being reinforced with cords, the
sidewall plies each having a first end which is received between
the bridge ply and a belt reinforcing structure; wherein each
sidewall ply extends axially outward along the sidewall and
extending radially inwardly to the bead core and folded from a
position axially outside the bead core to a position axially inside
and around the bead core to an axially inner turnup end; said
bridge ply having ends which overlap with a respective inner turnup
end of said sidewall ply and a tread.
6. The pneumatic radial ply tire of claim 5 wherein the tire has a
tread arc width W extending between a pair of lateral tread edges,
the overlapping of the sidewall plies relative to the bridge ply
occurs at a location axially inward of the lateral edges.
7. The pneumatic radial ply tire of claim 5 wherein the tire has a
tread arc width W extending between a pair of lateral tread edges,
the overlapping of the sidewall turnup end relative to the bridge
ply outer end occurs at a location axially outward of the lateral
edges.
8. The pneumatic radial ply tire of claim 5 wherein the sidewall
plies are reinforced with steel cords.
9. The pneumatic radial ply tire of claim 7 wherein the bridge ply
is reinforced with substantially inextensible cords made of steel
or aramid.
Description
[0001] This application claims the benefit of, and incorporates by
reference, U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/876,329 filed Dec.
21, 2006.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] It is known in the prior art to utilize an "outside-in"
configuration wherein the ply is wrapped around the bead so that
the turn up end is located on the inside of the tire or inside the
apex. The reversing of the location of the ply turnup results in
the reversing of the direction of the force on the ply (not shown),
torquing the toe into the rim. Further, this reversed torquing
action utilizes the material in the bead more efficiently allowing
the bead size to be proportionately reduced. Other associated
components can then also be reduced. Even a small decrease in the
amount of materials needed to produce a tire can result in
significantly decreased material expenses for a manufacturer
engaged in high-volume tire production. There is a need for a tire
having reduced weight that provides the desired performance
characteristics and can be produced with fewer materials at a lower
cost.
[0003] The present invention provides a novel way of creating such
a ply structure in a tire and another novel radial ply pneumatic
tire made by this method.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] The invention provides in a first aspect a method of
building a tire having a carcass assembly having a pair of bead
cores and a radial ply reinforcing structure; the method comprises
the steps of: applying an innerliner; applying a bridge ply over
said innerliner; cylindrically applying a pair of radial cord
reinforced sidewall plies, wherein the sidewall plies are spaced
apart in the crown area of the tire; wherein bridge ply overlaps
the ends of the sidewall plies; setting one bead core over each
sidewall ply; turning up each sidewall ply forming a turned up end,
wherein the turned up end of each sidewall ply overlaps with the
end of the bridge ply; moving the carcass assembly axially inwardly
while shaping the carcass assembly toroidally to form ply turnups
axially inwardly of the bead cores.
[0005] The invention provides in a second aspect a pneumatic radial
ply tread tire comprising: a pair of axially-spaced bead cores; a
carcass having a pair of sidewall plies and a bridge ply, each ply
being reinforced with parallel radially extending cords, the
sidewall plies each having a first end which is received between
the bridge ply and a belt reinforcing structure; wherein each
sidewall ply extends axially outward along the sidewall and
extending radially inwardly to the bead core and folded from a
position axially outside the bead core to a position axially inside
and around the bead core to an axially inner tumup end; said bridge
ply having ends which overlap with a respective inner turnup end of
said sidewall ply and a tread.
Definitions
[0006] "Aspect Ratio" means the ratio of its section height to its
section width.
[0007] "Axial" and "axially" mean the lines or directions that are
parallel to the axis of rotation of the tire.
[0008] "Bead" or "Bead Core" means generally that part of the tire
comprising an annular tensile member, the radially inner beads are
associated with holding the tire to the rim being wrapped by ply
cords and shaped, with or without other reinforcement elements such
as flippers, chippers, apexes or fillers, toe guards and
chaffers.
[0009] "Belt Structure" or "Reinforcing Belts" means at least two
annular layers or plies of parallel cords, woven or unwoven,
underlying the tread, unanchored to the bead, and having both left
and right cord angles in the range from 17.degree. to 27.degree.
with respect to the equatorial plane of the tire.
[0010] "Circumferential" means lines or directions extending along
the perimeter of the surface of the annular tread perpendicular to
the axial direction.
[0011] "Carcass" means the tire structure apart from the belt
structure, tread, undertread, over the plies, but including the
beads.
[0012] "Casing" means the carcass, belt structure, beads, sidewalls
and all other components of the tire excepting the tread and
undertread.
[0013] "Chaffers" refers to narrow strips of material placed around
the outside of the bead to protect cord plies from the rim,
distribute flexing above the rim.
[0014] "Cord" means one of the reinforcement strands of which the
plies in the tire are comprised.
[0015] "Equatorial Plane (EP)" means the plane perpendicular to the
tire's axis of rotation and passing through the center of its
tread.
[0016] "Footprint" means the contact patch or area of contact of
the tire tread with a flat surface at zero speed and under normal
load and pressure.
[0017] "Innerliner" means the layer or layers of elastomer or other
material that form the inside surface of a tubeless tire and that
contain the inflating fluid within the tire.
[0018] "Normal Inflation Pressure" means the specific design
inflation pressure and load assigned by the appropriate standards
organization for the service condition for the tire.
[0019] "Normal Load" means the specific design inflation pressure
and load assigned by the appropriate standards organization for the
service condition for the tire.
[0020] "Ply" means a layer of rubber-coated parallel cords.
[0021] "Pneumatic tire" means a laminated mechanical device of
generally toroidal shape (usually an open-torus) having bead cores
and a tread and made of rubber, chemicals, fabric and steel or
other materials. When mounted on the wheel of a motor vehicle, the
tire through its tread provides traction and contains the fluid
that sustains the vehicle load.
[0022] "Radial" and "radially" mean directions radially toward or
away from the axis of rotation of the tire.
[0023] "Radial Ply Tire" means a belted or
circumferentially-restricted pneumatic tire in which at least one
ply has cords which extend from bead to bead are laid at cord
angles between 65.degree. and 90.degree. with respect to the
equatorial plane of the tire.
[0024] "Section Height" means the radial distance from the nominal
rim diameter to the outer diameter of the tire at its equatorial
plane.
[0025] "Section Width" means the maximum linear distance parallel
to the axis of the tire and between the exterior of its sidewalls
when and after it has been inflated at normal pressure for 24
hours, but unloaded, excluding elevations of the sidewalls due to
labeling, decoration or protective bands.
[0026] "Sidewall" means that component which comprises a portion of
the outside surface of a tire between the tread and the be
[0027] "Shoulder" means the upper portion of sidewall just below
the tread edge.
[0028] "Sidewall" means that portion of a tire between the tread
and the bead.
[0029] "Tire industry standard size" refers to the series of
letters and numbers used by tire manufacturers to define a tire's
characteristics. The series includes such factors as tire width,
aspect ratio (height to width), radial/bias type, rim diameter,
speed rating, and load rating.
[0030] "Tread" means a molded rubber component which, when bonded
to a tire casing, includes that portion of the tire that comes into
contact with the road when the tire is normally inflated and under
normal load.
[0031] "Tread Width or Tread Arc Width" means the arc length of the
road-contacting tread surface in the axial direction, that is, in a
plane parallel to the axis of rotation of the tire.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0032] The invention will be described by way of example and with
reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
[0033] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the tire according to
the invention and FIG. 1A is an enlarged view of half the tire of
FIG. 1;
[0034] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the tire components prior to
application to the tire building drum;
[0035] FIGS. 3A, 3B and 3C are schematic views of the tire carcass
of FIG. 1 being made according to the method of the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0036] FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of the general
construction of a tire 10 according to the present invention. The
tire 10 of the present invention may be a passenger tire, a radial
light truck tire, or radial commercial truck tire. The tire 10 has
a tread portion 12 and a pair of sidewalls 16 wherein the sidewalls
16 are connected to the tread portion 12 in the shoulder regions
14. The tire 10 may have one or more reinforcing belts 24 which
laterally extend under the tread. The tire 10 includes an
additional bridge ply 50 that is located below the belts 24 and
spans the gap under the crown portion between the split sidewall
plies 17a and 17b. The location of the bridge ply 50 may vary.
[0037] A carcass 18 of the tire includes tires an air impervious
innerliner 42 which extends from bead to bead along the innermost
portion of the tire. The liner 42 may comprise halobutyl rubber by
way of example.
[0038] The carcass further comprises a single layer of ply 17 which
is split into two sidewall plys 17a, 17b and does not have a center
crown portion. The split plys 17a, 17b have a first end 17a, 17b
which is located between the tread belt 24 and the bridge ply 50.
The split plies 17a, 17b extend down the sidewall of the tire and
wrap around the bead 26 and apex 22 from the outside of the tire to
the inside, i.e., a reverse turnup. The split plys terminate in a
turn-up end 20a, 20b located in the sidewall of the tire. The ends
20a, 20b extend radially outward from the bead center a distance H
wherein H ranges from about 1.5 inches to about 9 inches depending
upon tire size. Preferably, the ends 20a, 20b overlap with ends
50a, 50b of bridge ply 50. The amount of overlap ranges from about
0.1 to about 6 inches, more preferably about 1 to about 5 inches.
Because the sidewall ply overlaps with the bridge ply there is
effectively two layers of ply in the sidewall area of the tire to
provide extra protection against sidewall damage and improve
overall durability.
[0039] The method of manufacturing the present invention permits
the tire to be fabricated on a flat build cylindrically shaped
building drum 5 as illustrated in FIGS. 2, and 3A, 3B, and 3C.
[0040] As shown in FIG. 2, an optional liner layer 42 may first be
applied to a tire building drum 5. A pair of rubber sidewall strips
16 is placed on the drum axially outward of the inner liner 42. A
bridge ply 50 is applied to the building drum 5 and centrally
positioned in the centerline as shown over the inner liner.
[0041] A pair of sidewall ply layers 17a, 17b are applied onto the
building drum over the sidewalls 16 with the axially inner turnup
ends 20a, 20b abutting respective ends 50a, 50b of the bridge ply
50. More preferably, the turnup ends 20a, 20b are applied over the
bridge ply such that the turnup ends 20a, 20b overlap bridge ply
ends 50a, 50b in the range of about 1 to about 5 inches. Although
not shown, the bridge ply 50 may be placed before or after the pair
of sidewall plies 17a, 17b.
[0042] An optional pair of flippers 40 can be located in an area
approximated at the location of the bead cores 26 if so
desired.
[0043] The bead cores 26 are then passed over the building drum 5
over the cylindrically formed components and placed on the drum 5
at a predetermined spacing L between the bead cores. Preferably the
bead cores are locked into position on the building drum.
[0044] At each end of the building drum 5 is a means 6 for turning
up and folding over the sidewall plies 17a, 17b. When the means 6
is activated the sidewall plies 17a, 17b are folded overlapping
lateral edge portions 50a and 50b of the bridge ply 50 on each
side. The assembly can then be stitched securing the carcass
assembly 18.
[0045] The carcass assembly 18 may optionally include a pair of
chafer strips 21 applied in an area directly below the beads as an
initially applied component.
[0046] Once all the carcass components are assembled, the carcass
assembly 18 can be toroidially shaped by moving the beads 26 and
carcass components axially inwardly as the assembly is expanded
radially to a toroidal shape.
[0047] A first belt layer 24a is then applied to the carcass
covering the bridge ply 50 and the overlapping portions of the
sidewall plies 17a, 17b. This overlapping belt layer 24a provides
additional structure to hold the assembly together. The belt layer
has a width W.sub.B1, as shown. A second narrower in width belt
layer 24b having cords inclined opposite the first layer 24a can
then be applied. That second belt layer has a width W.sub.B2
[0048] If the first belt layer has cords oriented at about
0.degree. then a second and third belt layers 24b and 24c may be
employed as an alternative construction.
[0049] The resultant method yields a tire as illustrated in FIG. 1
wherein ends of split plies 17a and 17b are sandwiched between the
bridge ply 50 and the first belt layer 24a. The bridge ply bridges
the gap between ply ends 17a, 17b to reinforce the crown portion of
the tire and preferably extends down the shoulder to abut or
overlap with turnup ends 20a, 20b.
[0050] This construction creates a very strong mechanical structure
in the crown area of the tire and insures the ends of plies 17a and
17b are moved well inboard of the highly flexed tread shoulders 14
and directly inward of the crown portion of the tread 12 and belt
reinforcing structure 24. The shoulder portions of the tire are
reinforced with two effective layers of ply formed from the split
plies and the bridge ply.
* * * * *